Foxface breathing at surface in QT

[MrTPlush]

My foxface is breathing pretty fast and sitting at the surface. My tank got a bit cloudy and got worse after adding prazi. Figuring the oxygen could be low I put an air stone in…but it doesn’t appear it has helped and he is still sticking to the surface. No noticeable signs of illness and his body looks fine.

Cupramime - 5.0 (has been in copper for about 10 days)
Ammonia - 0 (via badge and API)
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0


I got him over three weeks ago and he has already done prazi twice and mercyln once (copper for 10 days already as mentioned). He has been eating great until this afternoon when I saw him acting strange.

I have done two 50% water changes today and added the airstone with no luck of noticeable improvement. I’m not sure what to do next outside of removing copper to hopefully reduce any added stress.

 

[blaxsun]

Do you have a nano powerhead to increase water flow?

 

[MrTPlush]

Do you have a nano powerhead to increase water flow?

Correct, I have a Hydor Nano in a 20 long. There is also a smal HOB filter.

 

[lagatbezan]

My foxface is breathing pretty fast and sitting at the surface. My tank got a bit cloudy and got worse after adding prazi. Figuring the oxygen could be low I put an air stone in…but it doesn’t appear it has helped and he is still sticking to the surface. No noticeable signs of illness and his body looks fine.

Cupramime - 5.0 (has been in copper for about 10 days)
Ammonia - 0 (via badge and API)
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0


I got him over three weeks ago and he has already done prazi twice and mercyln once (copper for 10 days already as mentioned). He has been eating great until this afternoon when I saw him acting strange.

I have done two 50% water changes today and added the airstone with no luck of noticeable improvement. I’m not sure what to do next outside of removing copper to hopefully reduce any added stress.

I’m hoping your cupramine is at 0.5 not 5.0.
How are you testing copper?
If he has been in full therapeutic copper for 10 days you can transfer him to a new tank with all new equipment and do extended period of observation.

 

[MrTPlush]

I’m hoping your cupramine is at 0.5 not 5.0.
How are you testing copper?
If he has been in full therapeutic copper for 10 days you can transfer him to a new tank with all new equipmen

Yes, .5 on Hanna tester

Since I didn't have another hospital tank and any store was closed I made the decision to send him to the DT after a FW dip turned up nothing. There just didn't seem to be any visible illness. I suppose I have added some risk into something getting into the DT, but my only other members of the DT are two clowns...so in the worst case I wouldn't have a complicated fallow to deal with. Not ideal, but it felt like a risk worth taking for the sake of the Foxface considering he was well into treatment anyway.

For what it is worth upon going into the DT he didn't go to the surface. His breathing was still high, but then again I chucked him in a FW dip and then in a new tank...so stress to continue was to be expected. When I went to check on him this morning he was swimming around and picking at the rocks with normal breathing.

Here is to hoping the future doesn't come back to bite me.

 

[MrTPlush]

So I have moved the Foxface back to the QT tank as he continues to twitch and act like he is trying to shake something off of him..not scratching on anything though. I did dose my DT with prazi twice while he was in it. I have read fish aren’t suppose to be bothered by prazi, but both times I could tell it really bugged him for the first 4 hours.

Obviously after four prazi treatments I was pretty sure it wasn’t flukes, but I decided to FW dip him after I took him out of the DT just to be sure…nothing came off.

I am not sure where to go from here. There have been no exterior signs of ich and really no signs other than the twitching and maybe slightly elevated breathing. No eating issues….devours pellets, flakes, and will pick at nori/algae sheets.

Is there something I should try to treat (bacterial?) before resorting to copper again and assuming it is ich solely in his gills?